Patarca, R, Klimas, N G, Lugtendorf, S et al. · Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 1994 · DOI
This study tested blood samples from 70 ME/CFS patients and compared them to healthy people. Researchers found that about 60% of ME/CFS patients had unusually high levels of immune chemicals called cytokines, particularly two types called TNF-alpha and TNF-beta. These chemicals are normally released by the body to fight infections, but in ME/CFS patients they appeared to be abnormally activated even without an active infection.
This study provides early evidence that ME/CFS involves abnormal immune activation distinct from healthy controls, offering a potential biological marker for the disease. Understanding which immune cells are activated and producing these chemicals could guide future therapeutic strategies targeting excessive immune signaling.
This study does not prove that elevated cytokines cause ME/CFS symptoms or fatigue, only that they are associated with the disease. Correlation between these immune markers and specific symptoms was not measured. The study cannot determine whether immune activation is a primary driver of disease or a secondary consequence of another underlying process.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Patarca, R, Klimas, N G, Lugtendorf, S, Antoni, M, & Fletcher, M A (1994). Dysregulated expression of tumor necrosis factor in chronic fatigue syndrome: interrelations with cellular sources and patterns of soluble immune mediator expression.. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. https://doi.org/10.1093/clinids/18.supplement_1.s147
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-patarca-1994-dysregulated-expression,
author = {Patarca, R and Klimas, N G and Lugtendorf, S and Antoni, M and Fletcher, M A},
title = {Dysregulated expression of tumor necrosis factor in chronic fatigue syndrome: interrelations with cellular sources and patterns of soluble immune mediator expression.},
journal = {Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America},
year = {1994},
doi = {10.1093/clinids/18.supplement_1.s147},
note = {PubMed: 8148443},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/patarca-1994-dysregulated-expression},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/patarca-1994-dysregulated-expression
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